Rowlock



(No Model.)

H. FINGH.

ROWLOGK.

No. 338,345. Patented Mar. 23. 1886.

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N PETERS. Phceewmgqpher. wnsninglm D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY FINCH, OF MANISTEE, MICHIGAN.

ROWLOCK.

L'PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 338,345, dated March 23, 1886. Application filed June 10,1885. Serial No.4 168.5260. (No model.)

lTo @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY FINoH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Manistee, in the county of Manistee and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rowlocks; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art t0 which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in rowloeks for boat-s of any description; and the object is to produce a rowlock that can be easily and quickly locked in position for the purpose of rowing, and which can be in stantly released from its locked position to allow trailing of the oars; also to furnish a means for swiveling the oar-support; also to impart a crank movement to the oarsupport without danger of its leaving itsv place; also to secure and lock the oar-support in the crank by a groove and pin attached to said support, and, furthermore, to simplify the construction of rowlocks and prevent their getting out of order.

rIhe invention consists in the construction of certain details and arrangement of parts, as will be more fully described hereinafter, and more specifically pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon.

Like letters indicate similar parts in the different gures of the drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a boat with an oar in a position for trailing. Fig. 2 is a side view of the rowlock in position for rowing. Fig. 3 is an edge view of the oar-support with the thole-pin. Fig. 4C is a bottom view of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is atop view with part of an oar in the trailing position.

In the drawings, A represents a plate firmly secured to the gunwale of a boat, and is provided with an open-sided slot, a, having its sides rounded off or curved, as shown in Fig. 5. On each side of this slot is a hole, a', having on its inner side a notch, b, to permit the passage of a pin, c, on the thole-pin B, which passes into a suitable hole made in the gunwale. A recess, b, is provided immediately under the plate A, to allow the pin c to revolve and lock the thole-pin. The thole-pin is attached to a crank-plate, C, to the outer end of which is attached the swivel end of the oarsupport D. Said swivel end is provided with a recess, d, with which a pin, d', engages and permits the revolving of the support D.- The lower end, c, of said swivel end is flattened to permit its passage through the open slot a, and by a quarter-revolution the support is secured in place for rowing, as shown in Fig. 2. When it is desired to trail the oar, a quarterturn is given to the oar-support, which will release it from the slot a, and by imparting a quarter-turn to the crank-plate the oar Will trail, as shown in Fig. 5.

To prevent the unshipping of the oar, it is provided with a tapering sleeve, E, provided with a collar, F, made of leather or other suitable material. The collarl will bear against the oar-support in the act of trailing, and when it is desired to unship the oar it is merely drawn forward untilthe reduced end of the sleeve can be slipped or raised'out of the upper part of said support. If it is desired to shift the oar-support to the other side of the boat, the thole-pin is released and placed in the other hole, and secured therein, as before. The thole-pin with the pin c, in connection with the recess b and plate A, thus forms a bayonet-j oint; and it will readily be seen that the support can be easily and quickly shipped and unshipped, as desired,

while at the same time it secures it in place and yet permits the free revolving thereof.

'Ihe operation is as follows: In ordinary rowing, the oar-support, with its crank-plate and tholepin, is placed in the central position by first inserting the pin c through the notch b, and by then giving the crank-plate a quarter-turn the fiat part c will pass through the narrow part of the slot a, and by giving a quarterturn to the oar -support it will be locked in position. The oar is inserted with the narrow part of the sleeve, and will rest against the collar. y lVhen it is desired to trail the oars, the oar-support is given a quarterturn, and, being released from its locked position, will assume a position at about right angles to the gunwale of the boat.

ICO

It will be readily understood by those skilled y in the art that this rowlock possesses many advantages over those now muse, and among some of them may be mentioned that the oar is not liable to become broken by being thrown back in a heavy sea, as it would be with the ordinary thole-pins. It is not necessary to lash the oar to prevent it from jumping out of the rowlock. There is considerably less lost motion than when rowing with the ordinary thole-pin locks, and a longer stroke will be obtained than usual. When the oar is released and trails, it will act as a fender when lying alongside ofa vessel or dock. In running before a heavy sea the two stroke-oarsmen can let their oars swing out under each quarter and assist in steering. It is especially Well adapted to life-boats, but may be employed for any other kinds of boats. It is not liable to get out of order, and it can be easily manipulated.

I am aware of the Patent No. 48,975, to Norcross, and the Patent No. 243,294, to Norcross, and disclaim the construction therein shown; but,

Having thus described my invention, "what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a rowlock, the combination of a plate, A, provided with open-ended slot a and the holes a', having notchb, for the reception of the thole-pin B, provided with pin c, and the crank-plate C, having the revolving support D, arranged as shown and specified.

2. The combination of the plate A, constructed as shown, with the crank-plate C, provided with thole-pin B, and the supportD, having groove d, into which the pin d ts, and the ilattened end e, all arranged as herein shown, and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a rowlock, the combination of a plate, A, provided with open-ended slot a and holes a', having notch b, for the reception'of the thole-pin B, provided With pin c, to lock the thole-pin with said plate, with the crank-plate C, having oar-support D, attached, as shown, by a swivel-joint, all arranged as and for the purpose specified.

4. In combination with the rowlock herein described, consisting of a plate, A, crankplate C, having thole-pin B, and oar-support D, all constructed and applied as shown, the sleeve E, )rovided with collar F and secured to the oar, as and for the purpose specilied.

In testimony whereof l hereby affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY FINOH.

W`itnesses:

SILAs G. OvERrEoK, DAVID S. HARLEY. 

